


day nine: hartley character fic

by Hannah (hannahoftheinternet)



Series: HartmonFest 2019 [9]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Character Study, Good Hartley Rathaway, Hartmon Fest 2019, Light Angst, M/M, Oblivious Cisco Ramon, POV Cisco Ramon, POV Third Person, Pre-Relationship, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 08:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17936177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahoftheinternet/pseuds/Hannah
Summary: Hartley Rathaway isn’t as bad as he was.





	day nine: hartley character fic

Color vision and balance are always the last senses to come back after a vibe, and Cisco stumbles drunkenly as these senses return to him. “That was a strong one,” he says, before looking around to make sure no one heard him talking to himself. He closes his eyes, trying to burn the vibe into his brain. The  _ thunk _ of the knife sticking in the table stands out strongly.

He saw Hartley Rathaway. Not surprising; he’s holding Hartley’s keys. He had been on a mission to return them when the vibe hit. He saw more about Hartley than he probably should know. Hartley coming out to his parents, Hartley getting shot down, Hartley almost getting a steak knife through the hand.

Hartley might be pretentious and a dick, but he didn’t deserve that coming-out experience. Cisco has had a chance to get to know him over the last few years, and beneath that irritating exterior, he’s actually pretty nice.

What stands out most about Hartley is that he’s weirdly good-natured. At work, which is where they mostly interact, he’s uptight and closed-off, but as soon as he’s out of the lab, he’s  _ relaxed _ . Probably a ridiculous case of professionalism.

Cisco knows this because Hartley invited him out.  _ Hartley _ invited  _ him _ . Who knew he could be so friendly?

Something that doesn’t change is his genius. There’s always this look in his eye, like his mind is doing sixty trillion things a second. Even over a drink, he’s talking like crazy about everything under the sun.

He’s  _ stable _ , too. He got so much more normal after his parents started to make amends, normal enough to reclaim his job at S.T.A.R. Labs. Cisco hates to admit it, but they get a lot more done with Hartley back with them.

Still sad, though. Hartley, that is. And angry. All that betrayal and loneliness will do that to a person. It’s almost invisible, but it’s there in the frown his face automatically settles into and the ragged skin around his lips.

Cisco spots Hartley rounding the corner and holds out his keys with a cheerful, “Looking for these?”

“Thank you,” Hartley says as the keys drop neatly into his outstretched palm. “Wouldn’t have gotten far without those.”

His sense of humor is improving, too. Slowly.

Cisco falls into step with him on his way out. Hartley makes this funny little motion with his head, moving side to side like he’s searching for a signal. He’s done it since the particle accelerator exploded. Since he got his powers.

“Want to come to dinner with me?” Hartley asks as they need the exit to the parking lot. “A nice place just opened up on Tabor. Some kind of bistro.”

“Sounds good,” Cisco says. He likes going out to eat with Hartley. They have interesting conversations and Hartley always pays.

His friend (yeah, they’re friends now) touches his left ear very gently. Another habit he has. Sometimes he just rests his hand there for half an hour without even realizing.

Another thing Hartley is: confusing. For one thing, why does he keep asking Cisco out to dinner?

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked! Character studies aren’t really my thing, so... Poor oblivious Cisco. Actually, poor Hartley for crushing on someone so oblivious.
> 
> Comments are a writer’s best friend!


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